The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-03-04

scoffed at the idea Of fearing a future
world. but lying upon his pillow In the
last hour his teeth have chartered with
terror. saw, in Westmins ter Abb ", an
epitaph which a poet ordered to be put
upon his tOmbs
Life is fest,
And all things show it.
thought so once,
But now know IL
L thought how inapt that, in a place of
sepulchre, men should try their Vittfcisms
A great German having rejected Christ,
in his last moment said: 'sGive me light
give me hghti" Oh, we may be smart
with our witticism about the last hour;
but when II comes and the tides are rising,
and the surf is beating, aud the winds are
boWting, we viii each one, my brethren,
ind for himself that it is ''the swelling CT
Jordani" Our natural courage won't hold
out then. However familiar we may have
been with scenes Of mortality, however
much we may have screwed our courage
up, we want something more than natural
resources
When the northeast wind blows Of
from the sea Of death, &c win put
out all earthly lghts. The lamp of
the gospel God-hghted, is the only
lamp that can stand in that blast. The
weakest arm holding that shall not be
confounded the strongest one rejoicing
that shall tumble and die. When the Jor-
dan rises in Its wrath, the first dash Of its
wave win swamp them forever. We feel
how sad 1t is for a man to attempt this life
without religion. We see what a doleful
thing it is for man to 60 down into the
N isfortunes Of life without Christian
solace; but il that be so, how much more
terrible when that man comes face to face
with the solemnities of the last hourl Oh.
If in the bright sunshine Of health and
/ NJ aasskrr F-.VA
thing better, how will he feel when the
shadows Of the last hour gather above his
pillows If, in the warmth Of worldly
prosperity, he was sometimes dismayed,
how will he feel when the last chill creeps
over him} If while things were compare
lively smooth he was disquieted, what
will he do in the agonies of dissolutiont
If, in the land Of peace in which thou trusted,
they wearied thee, what wilt thou do amid the
swelling OF JordanY
oh, rejoice 70 know that 50 many Of
| Gods children have gone through that
| pass without a shudder. Some one said
| to a dying Christian:
isn't it hard for you to get out OF this
worldG"
''Oh, no." he says, sit is easy dying; it
is blessed dying; 1t is glorious dying"
And then he pointed to a clock on the
wall and said
''The last two hours in which Ihave been
dying have had more joy than all the
years Of my life"
A general came into the hospital after
the battle, and there were many seriously
wounded, and there was one man dying,
| and the General said:
All, my dear fellow, you seem very
! much wounded. I am afraid you are not
! going to get we'll"
"No,' said the soldier, 81 am not going
| to get well, but I feel very happy"
Oh, have seen them, and so have you,
/ 60 out of this life without tear on their
1 cheek. There was weeping all around
/ the room, but no weeping in the bed; the
/ C heeks were dry. They were not throw I
| into darknessi they were lifted up. We
| saw the tides rising around them, and the
! swelling of the wave. 1t washed them of
/ from the cares and tolls of life; it washed
/ them on toward the beach of heaven.
! They waved to US a farewell kiss as they
/ stood on deck, and fioated down further
/ and further waited by gales from heaven,
! until they were lost to our sight--mor-
/ tality having become immortality
LIES duty done, as sinks the clay
| Light from its load the spirit flies;
| While Heaven and earth combine to say,
| How blesJ the righteous when he dies.
| What high consolation to you that your
/ departed friends were not submerged in
! the swelling Of Jordanl The Israelites
| ffN'N JUST uH NA4ul W lily dLlNG Ou INC W GSl
/ ern banks of the Jordan as they had been
on the eastern banks of the Jordan. and
/ our departed Christian friends have only
| crossed Over-nOt sick, not dead, not ex-
! hausted, not extinguished, not blOtted out,
| but with healthier respiration and stout
/ er pulses, and leencr eyesight, and better
] prospects, crossed over, their sins, their
physical and mental disquiet, all left
| clear this side, an eternally flowing, i'm
| q h1n 0hefaH1a hraf oil
/ human and satanic pursuit Crossed over
| Oh, l shake hands of congratulation with
/ all the bereaved in the consideration that
/ our departed Christian friends are safeI
| Why was there, years ago, so much joy
/ in certain circles in New York when peo-
/ pie heard from their friends who were on
| board the CITY of Brussels2 1t was
| thought that vessel had gone to the bot
\ tom Of the sea; and when the friends on
| this side heard that the steamer had ar
| rived safely in LIvel pool had we not the
| right to congratulate the people in New
! York that their l.iends had got safely
| acrossi And is it not right this morning
| that / congratulate you that your departed
| friends are safe on tie shore of heavens
| Would you have them back againi
| Would you have those old parents back
| againi You know how hard it was some
| times or them to get their breath in the
stitied atmosphere of the summer
| would you have them back in this
| summeri Didn't they use their BRAN
| long enough' Would you have your chill
! dren back again4 Would you have them
| take the risk of temptations which thrOnG
| every human pathways Would you have
them cross the Jordan three times in adj
| dition to crossing it already, and cross il
| again to greet you now, and then cross il
! back afterwards for certainly you would
not keep them forever out of Heaven. i
they had lived forty or fifty years longer
would they have been safe2 Perhaps so
perhaps not.
Pause and weep, not from the freed from pain
But that the sigh Of love should pull them bacl
again.
I ask the question, and there seems K
come back the answer in heavenly echo:
"What win you never be sick again }
| again"
| "Whatl viii you never be tired againF
"Never-tired-again
"Whatl will you never weep againW
''Never-weep-aga
''Whatf win you never die again4'
'Never-die-again."
| sob, We army of departed kindred we
hail you from bank TO bank Wait for us
when the Jordan of death shall part for
us. Come down and meet us half way
between the widowed banks of earth anC
the palm groves of heaven.
On Jordau's stormy banks / stand,
And cast q wistful eye
| To Canaan's fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.
o, the transporting, rapturous scene
That rises my sight
| Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight
| But there is one step still in advance
| suggested by this subject If this religion
of Christ is so important in life, ana 81
important in the last hours of life, how
much more important it viii be in the great
eternity. / need not stand here aut
argue it. There is something within your
soul that says now, while I speak: